Alignment with national and international AI frameworks and standards

This high-level guideline is intended for parliamentary leadership and senior parliamentary managers, as well as for parliamentary staff and MPs. It may also be useful for technical staff involved in the implementation of AI-based systems.

As parliaments consider adopting AI technologies, it is important to be aware of and, where appropriate, to adhere to government standards and relevant national and international frameworks for AI use. These standards and frameworks may significantly influence how parliaments implement AI and, in some cases, may require parliaments to adapt the approaches outlined in these Guidelines.

Parliaments must take steps to ensure that their use of AI conforms to national laws, regulations and, where possible and appropriate, good practice for AI use in the public sector.

It should be noted that, while these Guidelines serve as an important starting point, parliaments may need to go above and beyond these in order to address their unique needs and uphold democratic principles. They should be used in conjunction with national and international standards to create a comprehensive approach to AI governance in parliament.

As part of its AI governance framework, parliament should stay informed about national and international AI-related policies and ensure that it remains compliant with these at all times. For example, the Chamber of Deputies of Italy has developed a code of conduct for the use of generative AI, which emphasizes that the use of this technology must align with various multilevel strategies and regulations:

• [The Code of Conduct] for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools has therefore been adopted, taking into account the Principles for the Use of AI in Support of Parliamentary Work, as laid down by the Supervisory Committee on Documentation Activities of the Chamber of Deputies, and having regard to the recommendations set forth in the 2024–2026 Three-Year Plan for ICT in the Public Administration, the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Advanced AI Systems as agreed by the G7, as well as the Guidelines for Secure AI System Development, promoted at the international level by the National Cyber Security Centre and signed on 27 November 2023 by the National Cybersecurity Agency.

In order to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, parliaments are advised to take the following steps:

• Research and identify relevant national and international AI frameworks or standards.
• Consult with government bodies responsible for AI oversight.
• Assess how these standards impact parliamentary AI implementation.
• Adjust internal AI policies and practices to ensure compliance.
• Regularly monitor national and international AI frameworks for updates.

In addition to AI-specific regulations, it is important to consider the implications of AI systems in terms of other laws and regulations that might be in place. These may cover the following matters, among others:

• Access to information and/or freedom of information
• Cybersecurity
• Data protection and privacy
• Discrimination and equality
• Employment
• Human rights and accessibility
• Intellectual property
• Procurement and competition

Parliaments may find the following international standards and frameworks helpful when defining their own governance processes, rules and regulations regarding the use of AI:

• OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence: principles promoting innovative and trustworthy AI that respects human rights and democratic values
• UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: the first global standard-setting instrument on the ethics of AI
• Ethically Aligned Design: A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems: guidance for ethical AI produced as part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems 
• Standards by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42: a list of standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) joint technical committee on AI, including a data quality governance framework
• Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law: a framework convention developed by the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence
• White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: A European approach to excellence and trust: a European Commission document that, while specific to the European Union, provides a framework for trustworthy AI that could be informative for parliaments globally
• G7 Hiroshima Process on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): Towards a G7 Common Understanding on Generative AI: an OECD report that helped inform and structure discussions around the G7 Hiroshima Process
• AI Governance: A Holistic Approach to Implement Ethics into AI: a framework providing guidance on implementing ethical AI in practice
• Risks, Harms and Benefits Assessment Tool: a United Nations Global Pulse tool to help assess the risks and benefits of using AI in development and humanitarian contexts
• ITU/WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H): a joint International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and World Health Organization (WHO) focus group that has produced guidance and other outputs on AI governance in a critical public-sector domain

Parliaments should regularly check for updates to these frameworks and for new parliament-specific AI guidance documents as they emerge. The unique role of parliaments in democratic societies may necessitate the development of more tailored international guidance in the future.

For a list of national government frameworks, strategies and programmes relating to AI, refer to the sub-guideline Strategic actions towards AI governance: Find out more, which is part of the guideline Strategic actions towards AI governance.

The Guidelines for AI in parliaments are published by the IPU in collaboration with the Parliamentary Data Science Hub in the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. It may be freely shared and reused with acknowledgement of the IPU. For more information about the IPU’s work on artificial intelligence, please visit www.ipu.org/AI or contact [email protected].

About the guidelines | The role of AI in parliaments | Introducing AI applications | Inter-parliamentary cooperation for AI | Strategic actions towards AI governance | Risks and challenges for parliaments | Generic risks and biases | Ethical principles | Risk management | Alignment with national and international AI frameworks and standards | Project portfolio management | Data governance | Systems development | Security management | Training for Data Literacy and AI Literacy | Glossary of terms